


I Didn't Know That I Would Fall in Love With You

by RWBYwhatRWBY



Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, M/M, Minor Book Spoilers, Multi, They're in vacuo don't question it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:07:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28198884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RWBYwhatRWBY/pseuds/RWBYwhatRWBY
Summary: “Wait, so you-” Jaune’s eyes went wide. “You know how people feel.”“Not...exactly,” Ren said. “Not always, and it’s not an exact science. I’ve got to be focused on it, and then I’ve got to interpret what I can see.”“Right,” Jaune said, panicked. “Sure. Just...the ability to know how people are feeling. Any time you want. Great.”
Relationships: Jaune Arc/Lie Ren/Nora Valkyrie, Lie Ren/Nora Valkyrie
Comments: 14
Kudos: 79





	I Didn't Know That I Would Fall in Love With You

**Author's Note:**

> I honestly don't know how this happened. I watched the episode and my brain immediately went to established Renora with Jaune desperately trying to hide how in love with them he is because _Ren can see how he feels holy shit._
> 
> This is totally understandable if you haven't read the books, but it will spoil the general gist of the plot for book 2.
> 
> There's also a couple of Chibi references?
> 
> I don't know how any of this happened.
> 
> Title from Boop. Because of course.

“Hey,” Ren said, settling on the sofa next to Jaune. The living room was otherwise dark and empty, with Nora and Oscar fast asleep.

“Hey,” Jaune said. His chin rested on his knees.

“What are you doing here?”

“Oh, I, uh,” Jaune lifted a hand to rub the back of his neck, “I figured you’d want to spend some time with Nora. Alone.”

Ren felt his cheeks heat up. “Oh.”

Jaune winced. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to make things awkward…”

“No, no. It’s…” Ren paused, trying to think his words through. Sometimes he wished he had Nora’s ability to just blurt out whatever was on her mind. “It’s...sweet of you, to think of us.”

Jaune buried his face further into his knees, tips of his ears turning red. “Just trying to be a good leader.”

Ren narrowed his eyes. There was something about Jaune’s tone that sounded... _bitter_.

“Right,” Ren said. “Thank you.”

Jaune smiled. “Sure. Although, you can repay me by answering a question. On the ship, with Winter and the Ace Ops...You seemed to know _exactly_ what they were feeling. What-”

“Yes, uh,” Ren felt his cheeks heat up. “That was my semblance.”

Jaune frowned. “I thought your semblance was masking emotions.”

“It was- _is_. But Ozpin said…”

“...Semblances can develop,” Jaune finished. “Of _course_.”

Ren nodded. “Right.”

“Wait, so you-” Jaune’s eyes went wide. “You know how people feel.”

“Not...exactly,” Ren said. “Not always, and it’s not an exact science. I’ve got to be focused on it, and then I’ve got to interpret what I can see.”

“Right,” Jaune said, panicked. “Sure. Just...the ability to know how people are feeling. Any time you want. Great.”

Ren frowned. “Jaune, are you okay?”

“Yeah!” Jaune said, “Just...Peachy. I’m, uh, feeling really tired, though.” He yawned, obviously fake. “I’m gonna go hit the hay.”

“Jaune-”

Jaune stood up in a hurry, sending the pile of plates and knick-knacks on the living room table wobbling. “I’m just gonna-” he pointed to the door and rushed away.

Ren stared after him. _Huh_.

“Wait, so he freaked out when you told him about your semblance?” Nora said, shovelling another mouthful of pancakes.

“Yes,” Ren said, settling across from her with a much smaller plate. He’d never understand where all that food went when Nora had such a tiny body.

Nora frowned. “Maybe he’s worried about you using it on him?”

“I wouldn’t if he didn’t want me to.”

“You said you couldn't control it when you used it on me,” Nora said, gesturing with a fork.

She wasn’t wrong. He’d barely taken two steps into Nora’s room before he’d seen a flurry of pink petals surrounding her. It hadn’t taken long to realise what they meant.

“I’ve been practising since then,” Ren pointed out. His control had improved a lot since his semblance had developed. The last thing anyone needed was anyone needed was him invading their privacy when they were at their most emotional.

Nora’s expression seemed to soften. “I know. You’ve been doing so well.”

Ren ducked his head with a smile. “You just want me to make more pancakes.”

Nora laughed. “Well, if you’re offering…”

Ren shook his head even as he went to the stove, grateful for the privacy of their own team kitchen. Nobody was there but their team, and that meant that nobody would be mad if he spent all morning baking for Nora. Nobody outside the team, anyway.

Ren frowned as he buttered the pan. Oscar had his bedroom down the hall by virtue of being the headmaster...sort of. He’d told them he had early morning training and wouldn’t see them until the afternoon. But Jaune had given them no such warning. He’d been gone before he and Nora had woken up, and he hadn’t come back for breakfast.

Ren was no stranger to needing space, but the way Jaune left...

“Nora?”

“Hmm?” Nora said.

“What do you think Jaune is feeling that he’s so scared of me knowing about?”

Nora tilted her head to the side. “I’m not sure.”

“Nora.”

“I’m not!” she said, then sighed. “I...I know you guys had a fight back when we split up.”

Ren’s heart pounded. “You think he’s upset with me.”

Nora stood up and wrapped her arms around Ren, hugging him from behind. “Hey, it’s just a guess.” Ren reached up to hold her hands where they rested on his abdomen. “Jaune isn’t great at hiding it when he’s mad at someone. And he’s been fine, before then.”

“Not entirely. Even on the way here he kind of seemed like he was avoiding us.”

Nora hummed but didn’t deny it. Neither of them had mentioned it, but Jaune had been giving them both a wide berth on the journey from Atlas to Vacuo. Ren assumed that Jaune was just giving them a little time to be a couple since they’d just got together. Unnecessary, sure, but a nice gesture nevertheless-

Ren tensed.

“What?” Nora said, pulling back a little.

“Last night when we were talking Jaune said something about wanting to give us some time _alone_.”

“Oh,” Nora said, tightening her hands in his. Ren couldn’t see her face, but he’d bet she was blushing right now. She cleared her throat. “Maybe he feels left out?”

Ren’s instinct was to say that was wrong. He paused. Team JNPR had always slotted together perfectly, raising each other’s strengths and covering each other’s weaknesses. And as horrible as it was to admit, Pyrrha’s death had pushed them even closer. Or rather, pushed them to reach a level of closeness that probably would have taken them years to develop, otherwise.

Ren was used to that with Nora, but Jaune had slipped into the same role without him even noticing.

...But he wasn’t dating Jaune. Entering a romantic relationship with Nora had changed things, giving their relationship a new layer that Jaune _couldn’t_ be part of. As natural as loving Nora felt, it _was_ new. And it made sense that Jaune would feel pushed out.

“Maybe,” Ren said.

Nora pulled back, spinning Ren around in her arms so they were chest to chest. Her face was creased up with concern.

“What do you think we should do about it?”

Ren took a deep breath. “I’m not sure. Make him feel more included?”

Nora watched him carefully. “How?”

“I don’t know,” Ren said, frowning. There wasn’t much they _could_ do. They might be comfortable with Jaune spending just as much time with them as before, but he probably didn’t feel the same way. Spending time with friends in a couple could be awkward. They’d all seen Weiss and Ruby avoiding Blake and Yang when they got too caught up in each other, and team RWBY’s teamwork and friendship was bulletproof.

And all of this assumed that they were guessing Jaune’s fears correctly.

“Maybe we’re getting ahead of ourselves,” Ren added.

“Right,” Nora said, nodding. “Maybe Jaune’s just being polite! And he’s just training with team SSSNN or something.”

“Right,” Ren echoed. He smiled down at Nora and tried not to worry too much about how shaky Nora’s returning one was.

Jaune was avoiding them.

In the days since the late-night talk about Ren’s semblance, he and Nora had barely seen their team leader. His bed had been slept in, but must have only come in after his teammates were asleep, and left before they woke up. He ate breakfast with Oscar and trained with the other huntsman and students in Vacuo.

It took three days for Nora to break.

“That’s it,” she said, slamming a lunch tray down in front of her. Ren put his book down and saw Scarlet, Blake and Neptune look up at Nora with surprise.

Blake seemed to recover first. “What’s wrong?” she asked, folding the corner of her page to keep her place.

“Jaune is what’s wrong,” Nora said. She cut up her carrots with far more strength than necessary.

“Ah,” Ren said. “Training didn’t go well?”

Nora’s eyes flashed up at him. “ _Jaune_ decided he doesn’t _need_ to train with his _teammate_ ,” she said.

“That sounds familiar,” Scarlet said under his breath. He shared a long look with Neptune. Blake winced.

“What do you mean?” Nora said, mercifully distracted from her quest to destroy the food on her plate. And the plate. And the table, probably.

“We had a...similar deal with our team leader a while back,” Neptune said, looking sheepish.

Right. Sun Wukong had run off to help Blake after the fall of Beacon and left his team to fend for themself. From what Ren had heard from Yatsudashi, winning back his team’s trust had been a pretty lengthy process for Sun.

“How did you guys sort things out?” Nora said.

“Sun admitted he was being an idiot and we were kind enough to forgive him,” Scarlet said.

“That’s…basically it, yeah,” Neptune said.

“I’m not sure it’s the same,” Blake said, looking uncomfortable. “Sun messed up, but he left to help me. Jaune...doesn’t seem to have a goal outside of...avoidance.”

Scarlet sighed. “It wasn’t just when he left, Blake. Even when the team got back together to head to Vacuo, Sun was distant. He knew we were upset, and he was too scared and guilty to want to deal with it. No matter what he said.”

“ _But_ , we sorted things out. Right, Scarlet?” Neptune looked at his teammate.

Scarlet shot him a smile. “Right.”

“Maybe you guys just need to do what we did,” Neptune said.

“Break a bunch of rules and take down an underground crime ring?” Ren said, deadpan.

“Talk to each other!” Neptune said.

“Ugh. We’re trying,” Nora said. She’d moved on to stabbing her food. The plate made ugly squeaking noises that had Blake’s ears flat to her head. Ren grabbed the utensils from Nora’s hands and nodded at Blake’s grateful smile. Nora carried on talking like she hadn’t even noticed. “But it’s impossible to talk to him when we never even see him! He won’t train with us, let alone _talk_ to us.”

“Don’t you guys share a room?” Blake asked.

Nora scoffed. “Yup. Not that _that’s_ helped. He’s only in there when we’re asleep.”

Neptune gasped. “You guys just need to fake being asleep! Catch him when he comes in, stakeout style.”

“That...isn’t the worst idea,” Blake said, after a beat.

“It’s a great idea!” Nora said, grinning.

Scarlet shrugged. “It can’t hurt.”

“It’s worth a try,” Ren said.

“Great! I’ve just got to find some coffee to keep me awake,” Nora added.

“No-!”

***

“You could have let me have some.”

“You need to be quiet.”

“I’m just saying! I’m not a kid anymore. I can handle a bit of caffeine.”

“Nora, you can’t even handle ten minutes of silence.”

Nora let out a long, loud sigh. Ren peaked an eye open. She was laid out on her back, arms folded over her chest, bottom lip sticking out in an adorable pout.

“Nora,” Ren whispered, shifting to face her, “I’d usually be happy to talk. But Jaune won’t come in if he thinks we’re awake.”

“Right,” Nora said, dropping her volume to match. “I’m just. Nervous.”

“I know,” Ren said. “Me too.”

Nora let her arms uncross, turning in bed to face Ren. “Really?”

Ren frowned. “Of course.”

“Yeah,” Nora said. She chewed on her lip. “Sometimes you’re just a little hard to read.”

“Nora-”

The bedroom door creaked open. Ren and Nora both turned to look.

“Oh,” Jaune said, looking surprised. “I kind of thought you guys would be asleep.”

“We know,” Nora said, sitting up. Her fists were clenched by her sides. “Too bad for you.”

Jaune blinked. “You know, I am _super tired_. So I think I’m just gonna-” He pointed to his bed. Nora growled.

“I think we should talk,” Ren said, placating. Jaune looked between Ren and Nora and swallowed. Ren sat up properly as Jaune perched himself on the edge of his bed, like he was ready to make a quick escape.

“Why have you been avoiding us?” Nora said, ever tactful.

“Nora,” Ren said, catching sight of Jaune’s worried expression.

“Fine. What are you so scared of Ren seeing with his semblance?”

Jaune blanched. “I’m not-”

“If you’re not scared then why are you avoiding us?” Nora said, raising her voice.

“Nora!” Ren said, sharp. He turned to look at her. She looked just as hurt and surprised as Jaune. _Great_.

“I’m not scared, Nora. I...It’s complicated,” Jaune said, looking down at his hands.

“How complicated can it be?” Nora said, hurt bleeding into her voice. “We just want you to talk to us.”

“I know,” Jaune said. “I just need to figure some things out on my own.”

Ren frowned.

“On your-” Nora cut herself off with a frustrated cry. “We’re your team, Jaune. We’re meant to do things _together_!”

Jaune looked up at her. “That’s not fair. When Ren was upset we gave him space-”

“And look how that turned out,” Ren blurted out. Both him and Jaune looked over at the scars streaked across Nora’s skin before they would stop themself. Nora folded her arms over her chest self-consciously.

Jaune’s gaze softened. “Nora-”

Nora shook her head. “Don’t _Nora_ me-”

“-That’s your name!”

“-you’re our team leader! How are we supposed to trust you when you don’t trust us?”

Immediately, Ren knew it was the wrong thing to say. From the look on Nora’s face, she seemed to realise too. Jaune _crumpled_ , shoulders sagging and fight drawing out of him. He scrubbed a hand over his face.

“Yeah, maybe you’re right,” Jaune said wetly.

“Jaune…” Ren said.

Jaune drew himself up. “Maybe I...shouldn’t be your team leader, right now.”

“Jaune, no,” Nora said, voice cracking. “Whatever this is, we can work it out. Together.” She hesitated. “I’m sorry that we’re making you uncomfortable. If there’s anything I can do to help, I’ll do it.”

There was a desperate note to Nora’s voice towards the end that Ren didn’t understand, but it seemed to hit Jaune hard.

“I should- go,” Jaune said, shaking his head. Tears were free-flowing now. Ren felt frozen in place as we watched Jaune stand up and leave, carefully shutting the door behind him. Nora sniffed next to him.

“I’m sorry,” she said. Ren snapped out of it, turning to see tear tracks running down Nora’s face. He was out of his bed and wrapped around her in an instant, pulling her face into his chest as she cried.

“I don’t think there’s anything we could have said that would have changed his mind,” Ren said. He tucked his face against Nora’s head, his own tears falling into her hair.

Nora shook her head a little, careful not to dislodge him. “I don’t know what to do.”

Ren squeezed her tighter, feeling just as helpless. “Me neither.” He paused for a moment, letting Nora’s sniffles settle. “Nora?”

“Hmm?”

“What you said, at the end. About doing anything to help. What did you mean?”

Nora tensed up. “I-” She sighed. “I guess I can’t really say it’s for me to figure out on my own, huh?”

Ren felt his heart sink. Jaune keeping things from him was bad enough, but both Jaune _and_ Nora keeping their struggles from him was too much to take. He felt a fresh wave of guilt hit him as he thought back to how he treated them in Atlas. If they felt half as bad as Ren did now, then he owed them a million more apologies, not matter what they said.

“If there’s something you feel like you can’t tell me then...that’s fine, Nora. It’s your choice,” He said, carefully. “As long as it’s not going to tear us apart.” The _like Jaune is, like_ I _did_ , went unsaid.

Nora sighed. “If this-” Nora squeezed his hands- “is making Jaune uncomfortable, then there’s a pretty obvious solution.”

Ren froze.

“Oh.”

Nora shifted in his arms, looking up at him from her place nuzzled against his chest. Ren couldn’t bring himself to meet her eyes. He swallowed around the lump in his throat, trying to centre himself.

“If that’s what you want…” Ren said, trying not to choke on the words.

A fresh glaze of tears filled Nora’s eyes. “Is that what _you_ want?”

Ren swallowed again. “I want whatever you want.”

Nora pulled away from him, moving a little down the bed and curling into herself protectively. “This is what I mean,” she said. “I can’t read you. I don’t know _what_ you want.”

Ren’s arms hung at his sides useless. “I want whatever makes you happy,” he said, desperate.

“Is that what this was? Just a way of making me happy?”

Ren shook his head, confused. “What do you mean?”

“Back in Atlas, at Robyn’s party, I kissed you. And after, you told me that you saw me in bed, sick, and I was surrounded by pink petals. It meant love, you said. But you never said-” her voice broke.

“Nora-”

“You and now Jaune. I just don’t know how you _feel-_ ”

Ren was activating his semblance before he could think about it. Nora was surrounded by her usual pink petals, but they were matched by blue, and a couple of red. _Sadness and anger_. Maybe he should be using it more, if this was how she’d been feeling.

He looked down at himself and saw the same - pink and blue and red.

“I wish you could see it,” Ren said. Nora stopped, jaw snapping shut. Ren gestured to himself, then to her. “It’s not just you. I’m the same, Nora.”

Nora looked at him with wide eyes. “You-”

Ren took a deep breath. “I love you. And I’m sorry I didn’t make that clear to you.” He took a deep breath, gathering himself. “I don’t want to...stop this. But if you think that it’s best- I just want you to be happy.”

Nora threw herself into his arms, pressing a deep kiss to his lips. When she pulled back she was still watery eyed, but there was a small smile on her lips. “You mean that.”

It wasn’t a question. Ren answered anyway. “Yes.”

Nora kissed him again. “All of it...You’d break up with me to sort things out.”

Ren felt his chest tighten. He couldn’t imagine much worse than breaking up now, but… “If it meant things being alright for all of us,” he said. “I’d rather we find a different solution, though.”

Nora’s expression shifted. Her eyes seemed to shine. “All of us meaning you, me and Jaune?”

Ren frowned. Had he missed something again? “Yes.”

“You...love me. But you’d break up with me for Jaune. You care about him as much as you care about me.”

“Yes?” Ren said, confused. Then, “Wait-”

“How long have you loved Jaune?” Nora asked.

Ren blinked. “What?”

“How long have you loved Jaune?” Nora repeated.

“He’s my teammate. Team _leader_. I love all of our team,” Ren said.

Nora bit her lip, holding back a smile. “Okay, let me rephrase it. How long have you loved Jaune like you love me?”

“I don’t-” Ren started. He cut himself off. He...hadn’t really thought about. But then, he hadn’t really thought about how much he loved Nora until she’d kissed him, and looking back, he’d been in love with her since they were kids. It was easier to not just not think about. There was always some new battle to fight in, a new enemy to face, there to distract him.

But.

If he had to think about it - _really_ consider how he felt about Jaune…

Ren’s eyes widened. “ _Oh_.”

Nora grinned. Which- that was wrong, right? Ren was pretty sure she shouldn’t be happy.

“But I love you!” he blurted out. Nora giggled.

“I love you too,” she said, smiling. “You can love more than one person.”

Ren shook his head. Not in disagreement, just to try and clear his thoughts. “Is that okay?”

“I think that’s gonna be up to Jaune,” she said. The light in her eyes seemed to dim a little. Ren squeezed her closer.

“I don’t think that’s going to turn out well.”

Nora frowned. “Maybe. But…”

“But?”

She took a deep breath. “We’ve been assuming that Jaune is upset with us getting together, but we’ve never considered _why_ he’d be upset with it.”

“What are you thinking?” Ren said.

“It’s kind of a longshot but...what if he was jealous? Of us?”

Ren turned it over in his mind. The pieces clicked together well. Why Jaune was so intent on giving them alone time, why he’d been avoiding them, why he’d gotten so emotional when they spoke.

“That would explain why he’s worried about me using my semblance on him,” Ren said.

“ _Oh_ ,” Nora said. “He’d have pink petals, right?”

Ren nodded. It was a longshot, but it did fit Jaune’s behaviour. “So what do we do?”

“I guess we need to work out what we’re okay with,” Nora said, looking away.

“What do you mean?”

Nora sighed. “It’s not just you, y’know?”

“You love him too,” Ren said, breathless.

Nora looked sheepish. “Is that alright?”

“Of course. I mean, I can’t exactly be upset with you for loving the same person as me,” Ren said.

“I guess,” Nora said, looking away. “But I don’t think it has to work that way.”

Ren shot her a quizzical look.

“Okay,” Nora said, squaring herself. “If I kissed Jaune, how would that make you feel?”

Ren ran the image through his mind. Nora, sweet and small and fiery, wrapped up in Jaune’s strong arms. His hand on the strong curve of her jaw, hers pulling at his hair. Or maybe Jaune’s hands would wrap around her waist, like Ren’s. Maybe he’d pull her onto his lap, and she’d let her legs sprawl on either side of his hips. Maybe…

“Overwhelming positive,” Ren said, blinking back to reality. Nora laughed.

“Okay,” she said. “Great. Well, same for you.”

Ren pushed down the image that conjured - him and Jaune wrapped around each other while Nora watched like some sort of regent surveying her courtly entertainment. He swallowed.

“Great,” Ren said. If he sounded a little strangled Nora was kind enough not to comment.

“I suppose the only other question is if he just likes one of us. Or neither of us, and we’re just setting ourselves up for embarrassment.”

“I’m...not sure,” Ren said. It was difficult to imagine that their team could be split up like that. But if they were right, then that’s exactly how Jaune must be feeling. “I think it’s worth it, though. If we can make things better.”

“It can’t hurt,” Nora said, then winced. That’s exactly what they’d said about ambushing Jaune in their room at night, and that hadn’t turned out great.

Ren nodded decisively. “We just need to find him again.”

Nora smiled. “I had an idea about that.”

“Cute boy Oz!” Nora shouted, pounding on the door. Ren gave a weak wave to some passing student, trying to ignore their wide eyed stare.

“Maybe he’s not in,” Ren said.

“He doesn’t have any training booked,” Nora said conversationally. She was still knocking on the door.

“Maybe he hasn’t updated his calendar.”

Nora hummed. “Maybe, but-”

The door opened. Oscar stood on the other side wearing Pumpkin Pete patterned pyjamas and a furious expression. “Miss Valkyrie. You may be surprised to hear the speed of my movements is not at all related to how hard you bang on my door.” Ah. Ozpin, then.

Nora grinned. Ren was pretty sure she’d lost any fearful respect of Ozpin long before they’d made it to Vacuo. Probably around the time she saw him piling up books to stand on to get to the hot chocolate powder on the top shelf of their kitchen in Mistral. “Sure,” she said, unconvincing. “Now, have you seen Jaune?”

“Don’t you share a room?” Ozpin said.

“Tell that to him! We had a disagreement last night, and he hasn’t been back since.”

“Ah,” Ozpin said. “Well, I’m afraid I haven’t come across-”

“Professor?” Ren asked. “I actually had a question for you.”

Nora and Ozpin shot him identical surprised looks. This hadn’t been the plan, but it was the only way to check if Ozpin was telling the truth.

“Of course. How can I help?” Ozpin said.

Ren looked around the corridor, feigning embarrassment. “It’s private.” He gestured to Ozpin’s room. “Could we talk inside?”

Ozpin froze for a second. “How about you give me a moment to get dressed, and then I’ll come to your room?”

Nora narrowed her eyes, catching on. “I think it’s urgent.”

Ozpin looked between the two of them for a few moments, then sighed. “We did warn him there wouldn’t be much we could do if you came looking.”

Nora grinned. “I’m sure he knew the risks,” she said. Then louder, “Jaune?”

Ren heard crashing noise from inside Ozpin’s room. Ozpin winced, and then a light passed over his eyes. 

“Hi Oscar,” Ren said.

“Sorry,” Oscar said. “I figured Ozpin had a better chance of lying to guys than me.”

It wasn’t a bad idea. They’d spent far more time with Oscar than Ozpin, so they knew his tells a lot better. Still, even Ozpin couldn’t cover the shifty way he barely opened the door, or make Jaune disappear.

Well, he probably could. If he really wanted to.

Ren cut off that train of thought before he could wonder at the potential of Ozpin’s abilities.

“It’s okay,” Nora said. “Jaune probably needs someone that’s just...on his side, right now.”

Oscar sighed. “I’m not trying to take sides. I don’t even understand why you’re fighting! It seems like-” he cut himself off with a frustrated noise.

Ren and Nora looked at each other. What did Oscar know?

“Right,” Nora said, drawing the word out. “So, can Jaune come back and talk to us? Or does he need some...time.”

Oscar turned away, looking at something in his room. Presumably Jaune.

“It’s fine,” Jaune said. He sounded tired and miserable. “I’ll come over.”

Jaune stepped out of the room. His clothes looked crumpled like he’d slept in them, and the bags under his eyes were dark and heavy.

“Okay,” Nora said, voice gentle. She reached out to grab Jaune’s hand and pulled him down the hall. Jaune seemed too exhausted to fight it.

Oscar shook his head. “I hope you guys sort things out.”

“Me too,” Ren said, watching as Nora herded Jaune into their room. A thought struck him. “Oscar...How do _you_ feel about me and Nora?”

“Figured out what Jaune’s been freaking out about, huh?” Oscar said.

“We have a theory,” Ren said.

“I hope it works out,” Oscar said. He smiled. “I’m happy for you guys.”

Ren returned it, then looked back at Nora. She stood in the doorway to their room like she was guarding it, stopping Jaune from leaving.

“Thanks, Oscar,” Ren said, then took off to follow Nora.

Jaune around the room with weary eyes. He and Ren were both on sofas in the team common room, but Nora had way too much energy to sit still. Or maybe she was worried that Jaune would leave if she wasn’t blocking the exit.

“I think we need to talk,” Ren said. He shot a pointed look at Nora. “Calmly.”

Nora pouted but didn’t disagree. Jaune looked between them with a guarded look.

“I don’t know what you want me to say,” he said.

Ren bit his lip. “I can control my semblance,” he said. “Most of the time, anyway. And I’ll keep working on it. You can still spend time with Nora, anyway. I’ll just stay away.”

Jaune’s eyes went wide. “Ren, no. I don’t want to-” he cut himself off, shaking his head.

“...You don’t want to break us up,” Nora said, taking a step towards them. “Right?”

“Of course not!” Jaune said. “You’re my friends. I want you guys to be happy.”

“We’re not happy if you’re not happy,” Ren said.

Jaune bit his lip. “I’m sorry.”

Nora looked at Ren, assessing. He knew what she was thinking - nothing Jaune had said contradicted the idea that he liked them, and he wanted them to stay together.

“Hey,” Nora said, more tender than Ren had ever heard. She moved forward to stand between Jaune’s legs, resting a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her in surprise. “You don’t have to apologise for how you feel.”

Jaune’s eyes widened. His hands stuttered in the air before resting on his knees, carefully not touching Nora. “You don’t know how I feel,” he said, eyes flicking over to Ren. Ren shook his head. He hadn’t used his semblance, and Jaune needed to know that. 

It wouldn’t be fair on Jaune. He had a right to keep his feelings to himself, no matter how frustrating it was for the rest of them. Ren wouldn’t be able to forgive himself for breaking his trust.

“I know you’re our teammate. Our team leader,” Nora said. She carded a hand through Jaune’s hair, ignoring it when he went stiff and tense at the feeling. “We love you.”

“I…” Jaune trailed off.

“She’s right,” Ren said. “We love you. No matter how you feel.”

Jaune was still frowning as Nora kept up the slow, steady movement of her hand in his hair. He took a deep breath and steadied himself, taking on an expression that Ren usually saw before a particularly tough fight. He looked at Ren. “Use your semblance.”

“Jaune, I’m not going to invade your privacy like that.”

“You’re not,” Jaune said, voice shaking a little. “I’m giving you permission.”

“You don’t have to-” Nora began.

“I know,” Jaune said. “But I’d rather Ren just see than me have to explain.”

Ren looked at the two of them. It felt wrong to just _look_ , after the stress of the past few days and all the effort he’d put into training. Nora turned to look at him and nodded. Right.

Ren closed his eyes, focusing inwards. People often anchored their semblance’s to a specific moment, and Ren was no different. He thought back to Beacon. 

_Standing with Nora and Pyrrha at either side. The feeling of Nora’s arms around him as she hugged him. Jaune’s shock and Pyrrha’s pleased expression as Ozpin announced their team leader._

Ren let the warmth-pride-home feeling wash over him and opened his eyes.

The first thing he noticed was the flurry surrounding Nora. Pink petals, of course. But there was a good number in an anxious orange and excited yellow. Nothing unexpected. Ren turned his attention to Jaune.

The petals surrounding him made a disjointed rainbow. Orange, blue and green… Jaune was scared and sad and so, so worried. That was clear. But one colour stood out more than any of them, dense petals seeming to surround Jaune in a steady orbit even as the rest of them rushed around.

_Pink._

“Ren?” Nora asked, and Ren saw a few Yellow petals fade to nothing, replaced by orange. He blinked, clearing his vision and switching off his semblance.

Jaune and Nora watched him, fear etched in their faces.

“You love us too,” Ren said.

Nora relaxed, a smile creeping across her face, but Jaune’s expression didn’t change. “Uh, I don’t know what exactly your semblance shows you, Ren. I don’t just love you guys like...teammate to teammate,” Jaune said.

Ren felt himself smile. “It doesn’t do a great job distinguishing between platonic and romantic love, to be honest. But you just did.”

Jaune flushed. He looked terrified for a second, then blinked. “Why aren’t you-”

“I _told you_ ,” Nora said. She was bouncing up and down a little, knowing Jaune with the movement. He reached out to steady her with a hand on her waist before thinking. The red on his cheeks got deeper as his mind caught up with his actions, but Nora was already grinning. “We love you too.”

“What?” Jaune said, confused.

“Romantically,” Ren clarified. Nora nodded in agreement.

Jaune looked at Nora, then at Ren. His gaze flicked between them in a way that would have been comical, in other circumstances. “You… Like me. _Love_ me,” he said. “Romantically?”

“Yes!” Nora said, nodding for emphasis.

“Oh,” Jaune said. He paused. “ _Oh._ ”

“I thought the same thing,” Ren said.

“So you guys want to…?” Jaune trailed off. He looked away for a second. “I don’t really know how this goes.”

“Me neither,” Ren said. Jaune smiled at him, and Ren didn’t even try and pretend it didn’t make his heart skip a beat.

“Well,” Nora said, reaching down to hold Jaune’s hands in hers, “We all love each other. I think we all just...date?”

“Is that okay?” Jaune said.

“More than,” Ren said. He got up and sat next to Jaune. Their legs were flush against each other. Nora let go of one of Jaune’s hands and it held it out. Ren took Nora’s hand with his left, and Jaune’s with his right. He squeezed.

Jaune took in a shaky breath. “Oh,” he said again.

Nora giggled. “That okay with you, oh fearless leader?”

Jaune grinned. “I think it is.”

Nora held Ren’s gaze for a moment, then let go of Jaune’s hand. She cupped Jaune’s jaw in hers, tilting his head up towards her and resting their foreheads together. “Is this alright too?”

Jaune swallowed. “A-Okay for me. Ren?”

Ren pulled his and Jaune’s entwined hands to his face, pressing a kiss to the skin of Jaune’s hand. “Fine by me.”

Nora tipped forward to kiss Jaune. They were both smiling too much for it to be anything more than a peck, but all three of them were a little breathless regardless.

“Woah,” said Jaune. Nora laughed. Jaune reached up to grab her hand, then turned to Ren. Jaune was kissing him before Ren could react. 

“That okay, too?” Jaune asked.

“I’m not sure,” Ren said, grinning. “Maybe you should do it again. To check.”

“Well, it’s what a good leader would do,” Jaune said. Nora’s giggles rang out as Jaune dipped forward to kiss him again. Ren closed his eyes and saw pink petals dancing in the darkness.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading! one say maybe I'll come back and properly edit this.
> 
> My tumblr and main AO3 are both gravitywhatgravity - feel free to say hello!
> 
> Comments are always appreciated no matter to the size<3


End file.
